State budget

Perhaps I was not surprised that a survey appeared on a local TV station asking people whether they thought the state of Washington should build more stores and expand their liquor business to sell beer. The rationale stated was to bring in more revenue to the state, presumably to mitigate against the some $2 billion deficit it faces. How clever!

Washington state already has a monopoly on the sale of hard liquor, a privilege most states do not enjoy. As I see it, Washington state could use this “foot in the door” to further expand its growing empire, increase government jobs and bring more power to the state government.

It is ironic that a state that champions the name of our first president, George Washington, would overlook one of his most succinct quotations: “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

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